Vending-machine.



PATENTED JAN. 9,- 1906.

H. K. HANSB I. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 16, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Inventor.

Attorneys Zgwyses %IW PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906.

H. K. HANSEN. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAE.16, 1905.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

16 3'7 63 J6 (34 Z1 Z1 Witnesses m l 54 mm; Inventor by E/ m I I W Attorneys HANS K. HANSEN, OF SIOUX CITY, IOWA.

VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

Application filed March 16,1905. Serial No. 250,448.

To @ZZ whom, it natty. concern:

Be it known that I, HANS K. I-IANsEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sioux City, in the county of WVoodbury and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Vendingl\/lachine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vending machines of that class employed for the vending of lead-pencils, cigars, stick-candy, or other. articles which may be readily delivered from the magazine.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple mechanism for controlling the discharge of the articles from the magazine, the mechanism being of such construction as to positively prevent the escape of more than a single article at each operation.

A further object of the invention is to sim plify and improve the construction of the discharging mechanism and further. to provide for the release of the coin before an article is delivered, so that it will be impossible for a person to so manipulate the machine as to obtain more than one article by the insertion of a single coin.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accomp anying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a vending-machine constructed in accordancewith the invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the parts in another position. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the sets of oscillatory discharge-plates detached.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the main operatingrack. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the pawl for locking the rack at the completion of its movement in order to permit the discharge of the coin before the delivery of an article from the reservoirfi Similar characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawmgs.

The device forming the subject of the present invention is intended principally for the vending of articles which may be readily de-' livered from a reservoir, lead-pencils at being shown in the present instance, and these are arranged in a vertically-disposed reservoir 10, contained within asuitable casing 11, the contents of the reservoir being visible through a glass panel 12 and the articles when delivered rolling down through a suitable chute 13 toward the front of the machine.

At a point within the casing is a horizontally-disposed plate or partition 14, to which is secured a pair of vertical studs 15, and on each of these is mounted a pair of discharging-plates 16 and 17,.the plates being vertically spaced. from each other for a distance slightly greater than the thickness or diameter of the article to be delivered, and between the two plates is secured a small pinion 18.

The plates in the present instance are in the form of partial disks, which extend in opposite directions, respectively, the upper plates 16 normally occupying a position beneath the lowermost 0f the articles in the reservoir and supporting the entire column of articles, and when the plates are turned to the extent of half of a revolution the upper plates will be moved from under said articles, and the column of articles will fall until the lowermost rests on the lowest plate 17, as shown in Fig. 3, and on the return movement of said plates to initial position the upper plate 16 will pass between the lowermost and the second article and will again support the colunm, while the lowermost article will fall through the discharge-chute.

The horizontal partition serves as a support for a longitudinally-movable rack-bar 20, that is provided with a plurality of spaced guiding devices 21, and said bar is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by one or more springs 22. One end of the bar is provided with a vertically disposed lug 23, that is provided with a notch 24 for the passage of a coin-engaging slide 25. This slide is in the form of a spring-retracted bar 26, having an operating-knob 27, and the inner end of the bar is turned to form an arm which may engage with an entered coin. On the rod is secured a collar 27, with which engages a helical compression-spring 28, arranged within a suitable casing 29, that projects from the side of the frame of the machine. The extreme end portion of the coin-engaging arm 25 is guided between a pair of parallel bars 30 and is arranged to engage with the camshaped end portion 32 of a pawl-carrying lever 33, the latter being connected to the horizontal partition by screws or other securing,

'movement of the rack-bar and afford an opportunity for the coin to fall into a suitable receptacle.

The coin is dropped through a chute 39 and falls against a pair of spaced coin-rests at a point between the arm 25 and the lug 23, the space between the two coin-rests being such that if a coin of smaller size than that necessary to operate the machine is dropped into the chute it may fall directly to the coinreceptacle and the machine cannot be operated until a coin of predetermined value has been deposited.

I11 the operation of the machine, a coin of proper denomination is dropped through the chute and falls onto the chute-rest 50. The rod 26 is then forced in, and the coin is engaged between the arm 25 and lug This movement is transmitted to the rack-bar 20, and the two sets or pairs of delivery-plates are turned from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that illustrated in Fig. 3. The upper plates 16 pass from below the lowermost article of the reservoir, and the column of articles then falls until it rests on the lowermost plates 17. When the rack-bar has been pushed fully in, the tooth 37 engages in one or other of the notches 3S and locks said rack-bar from rearward movement. Pressure on the operating-rod is than relieved, and the latter is restored to its initial position by the spring, the rack-bar still remaining in the position shown in Fig. 2. As the rod 26 moves out- 'ward the end of the arm 25 will engage the cam-shaped end 32 of the pawl-carrying arm and a tooth of the latter will be forced out of engagement with the rack-bar, whereupon the latter will be restored to its initial position by means of the spring or springs 22. This causes the plates to again assume the position shown in Fig. 1, the upper plates 16 engaging with the second article from the bottom of the column, while the lowermost article is delivered through the chute to the front of the machine.

With a device constructed in accordance with this invention it is impossible for a person to operate the machine by means of a coin of a size smaller than that required, and as the operating-coin is released and falls to the coin-receptacle before an article is delivered it will be impossible to so manipulate the machine as to permit the delivery of more than a single article on the insertion of a single coin.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a vending-machine, the combination with a reservoir, of a pair of delivery-plates having article-engaging surfaces extending, respectively, in opposite directions, said plates being arranged one above the other and spaced for a distance approximately equal to the diameter of the articles in the magazine, a pinion connected to the plates, a rack bar engaging said pinion, and means for operating said rack-bar.

2. In a vending-machine, the combination with a reservoir, of a pair of delivery-plates having article-engaging surfaces extending, respectively, in opposite directions, and spaced vertically from each other for a distance approximately equal to the diameter of the articles in the magazine, a pinion arranged between the plates, a rack-bar intermeshing with the pinion, means for moving said rack-bar in one direction, means for automatically locking said rack-bar at the limit of its inward movement, an operating-rod, and means controllable by the operating-rod for releasing said rack-bar.

3. In a vendingmachine, the combination with a reservoir, of a plurality of sets of delivery-plates, each set being formed of two superposed plates having article-engaging surfaces extending, respectively, in opposite directions, a pinion arranged between said plates, a slidable rack-bar having teeth intermeshing with the pinions, an operatingrod for effecting. inward movement of the rack-bar, a pawl for locking the rack-bar at the limit of its inward movement, a spring for restoring the rack-bar to its initial position, and means carried by the operating-rod for engaging and moving said pawl to release position. i

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HANS K. HANSEN.

Witnesses:

J. E. HENRIQUES, J. A. SMITH. 

